Happy Birthday, Carly!

Today is my fiancee’s 23rd birthday.  Here are 23 reasons why I’m thankful for her.

1. She loves Jesus.
2. She wants to be a mother of a lot of kids, and wants to adopt international children.
3. She quiet and gentle, which is pretty much the opposite of me.
4. She trusts me (and wants me) to lead our family well and be a courageous husband and father.
5. She likes to cuddle and watch movies.
6. She works hard every day at a job that could be quite intimidating.
7. She is absolutely, physically gorgeous.
8. She laughs at my jokes even if they aren’t funny just to make me feel good about myself.
9. She was confident enough to say yes to dating me even though I was leaving for Africa.
10. She said yes to marrying me even though I was leaving for Africa.
11. She is continually patient and gracious with me when I am hard to love and don’t deserve it.
12. She has been amazing in planning our wedding while I’ve been gone.
13. She wants me to follow the Lord’s call to the pastorate, trusting him despite the trials it may bring.
14. She’s more concerned about helping me become a godly man than hurting my feelings.
15. She isn’t concerned with a six-digit income, a large house, an expensive car, fame, or status.
16. She puts up with my long monologues because I’m too verbose to say something in less than 5 minutes.
17. She is not satisfied with mediocrity.
18. She is very laid back and likes when I take charge and make decisions.
19. She loves summer and hates winter…but loves Christmas, which is awesome.
20. She doesn’t blog or Twitter like I do.  (I couldn’t imagine two social networking junkies in one house.)
21. She has traveled internationally and knows about and loves other cultures.
22. She loves missions and wants to give money for the sake of the gospel.
23. She loves me and wants to be my wife.

I love you, Carly!